Israel 2026-07

Israel 19,

July 20, 2026,

Hi Everyone,

I got to bed at 1:30 after watching the World Cup disappointing Final game. But as the saying goes, ‘you win some, you lose some.’ This one ‘we’ lost. I was up bright and early at 9:30 just in time for breakfast which is served from 6:30 to 10:00. I met my Australian friends, M & W, from last night so we had cappuccinos and cinnamon buns together. We arranged to meet at noon to go down to the beach for a swim. W is a good swimmer and a swimming instructor so we swam out to the breakwater together. That is the 1st time in 3 years that I have ever seen a swimmer go out that far. She told me that in Australia she would never go out that far from shore due to the danger of being eaten by a shark. Why tempt fate. They left for Haifa later in the afternoon. They are on a 3 month world tour, ending up in Vietnam which leaves me drooling with envy. Next year!?

After my usual, I took a beach cold water shower and had the 6:00 soup and wine provided by the hotel. This evening, I decided to visit the beach side, 5* hotels. I have photographed them from the beach many times but have never ventured inside them. I took the initial picture from the outside from several angles. I then went inside to photograph the lobby. The final photo was taken of the main restaurant.

All of the hotels are beautiful and worth staying in if 5* hotels is your ‘thing’ and of course if you are willing to spend the money. I usually avoid 5* hotels when I am travelling, trying to stay in B&Bs or 2-3* hotels. I will stay in a 5* if a medical conference is being held there as we always get a group rate. The hotels did not disappoint me with their overall decor. The lobby’s and the restaurants were all tastefully decorated. The food prices, except for the Kapinski, were on par with the local nice restaurants. The prices of the hotels ranged from $500 to $1000 to $2000 per night. A pasta meal or a big Israeli salad could be had for $30. A fish meal was double that except for the Kapinski where the prices are much higher. Kapinski is really top tier, followed by the Hilton and the Sheraton. The Carlton, Renaissance, Herod, and Crown Plaza are just 1 step down but still nice. There are other nice hotels here but I concentrated on the ones on the beach. Next time I am here, I will have an Israeli salad in each one for comparison.

I am sitting in one of my favourite beach side restaurants that I have frequented in the past. The sea is black and I can hear the waves lapping the shore. There is soft rock music in the background, not loud enough to disturb. I am on my 2nd Tuboug beer to go with a falafel. It is 25C with a cool breeze. There is no better way to spend an evening in TLV. I walked on the board walk for 2.5 hours to do my photos. There must have been 1000s of people out, strolling, running, skateboarding, bicycling, and scootering. TLV has to be one of the nicest places to be in the summer. There are very few cities in the world of this size which have a beach-waterfront so easily accessible.

Love.

Brian

Israel 2026-06

Israel 3,

July 6, 2026,

I slept for 8.5 hours so I think that I am all caught up from sleep deprivation from the time change and my 36 hour voyage from hell. As they say, no pain, no gain.

Last evening I wandered over to Mike’s one of my favourite brasseries on the beach. It was a warm 23C with a cool breeze, just right to have a beer, in a pub, with the Med in the background, and watch the Norway-Brazilian football World Cup match. I was at a table with a family of Brazilians who had made Aliyah to Israel many years ago. They were very friendly and expressive but unfortunately it did not help their team win the match.

At the Maxim Hotel, you are free to sit at almost any table as the hotel caters to volunteers. I played ‘Jewish geography’ with a lady who was originally from Montreal and now lives in Toronto. She grew up in the CDN and CSL areas and we had many common acquaintances. I then spoke at length with a lady originally from South Africa and who now lives in Australia.

I spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach doing my usual activities. I am really a beachcomber at heart. In my spare time there is nothing more that I would like to do. I am not really very intellectual at heart. I was 30C with a slight breeze and only the occasional 2 foot breaker. I swam to the breakwater, 500m there and back with ease. The life guards must be getting used to me swimming out that far as they didn’t whistle me in. I didn’t hear a whistle anyway and I was the only one out swimming that far. I then jogged 5k on the beach knocking off 2 min from my time yesterday. If I continue at this rate I will be down to 0 in 3 weeks which is impossible if you do the math.

I bought a Magnum ice cream bar at 3:30 and got so excited by the prospect of eating an ice cream on the beach, that I got carried away and dropped my credit card on the sand. A ‘kid’ picked it up and spent 135 shekels ($65) before I could cancel it. It must have been a kid, as a pro would have made an attempt to empty my bank account. The store got the thief on their camera and I will review it later in the week. I don’t know if they have ‘wanted dead or alive’ posters here.

I am at the La Mer Restaurant overlooking the beach eating my 1st solid meal in 3 days. I really have not been hungry and except for breakfast, have only consumed liquids. There is a live band here to encourage me as I devour a margarita pizza and a local Maccabi draft beer.

Tomorrow, I will do my first shift with MDA so you can expect a full account of my cases.

Love,

Brian

Israel 2026-06

Israel 2,

July 5, 2026,

Hi Everyone,

I never had so many missed flights and cancellations on 1 trip. In the end I flew from Paris to Vienna and then onward to Tel Aviv, arriving at 5:00 am on Sunday having being in transit for 36 hours door to door. That is a record for me that I hope not to duplicate in future voyages. The stop overs through Rome or Athenes were cancelled along the way as I kept missing connections. I was lucky however, as the flights were not over booked. I easily found 3 seats together on 2 of the flights so I was able to stretch out and sleep.

I picked up a car at the airport but didn’t want to open the phone to use the GPS as that would have been expensive without an Israeli SIM card. I have forgotten my way around Tel Aviv so I wandered around on different street until I found the road along the sea. From there it was an easy hop, skip and a jump to my hotel. I now have an Israeli SIM card with an Israeli phone number but the same email address.

The hotel Maxim staff greeted me warmly on my arrival. This morning I walked around Dizengoff Sq and presented myself to several bookshops. They suggested that I contact the manager on the website to sell my book. Back at the hotel, Saeed, the manager of the hotel, and I worked on making a short advertising note for my Swords of Iron book which will be placed on the Maxim Hotel website.

It was a little cloudy in the morning until the sun broke through the clouds leaving a few wispy ones in its place. It was 30 C with a slight warm breeze. The water was warm and there were 1.5m waves. Much of the beach was black flagged with certain areas open for swimming and surfing. I did some body surfing and then swam out to the breakwater, 250m off shore. I was the only swimmer who ventured that far from shore. I then did my 1st 5k run of the season along the beach. Even though it was rather hot, the breeze and the proximity to the water made the run rather pleasant.

Love,

Brian

2025-03 Israel

Israel 22,

April 12, 2025,

Hi Everyone,

Yesterday I went to Richon Letzion, where I met up with my cousin Richard and his friends for a run on the beach. We usually meet up at Golda’s, the famous ice cream shop chain and then come back there after the run for an ice cream or frozen yogurt and a cappuccino. This time we ran for 10 km which I have not done for some time. My usual run is for 5 to 7 km. running time was 1:20 which is not bad for a 75 year old man with white hair. I am scheduled to do the World Championship Triathlon for Canada in Australia in October in the sprint division. If I get ambitious later in the summer, maybe I will try to do an olympic distance triathlon. The weather was perfect for a run, 18C with a breeze that made running rather pleasant.

In the afternoon I did some shopping. I walked to Hostage Square which has not changed much since last year except the posters showed some wear and tear from having been out in the weather for a whole year. I think that it gives you the feeling of how the health of the hostages must be with wear and tear that their bodies have suffered having been in the tunnels for over 500 days. The hostages, when released show obvious signs of weight loss and malnutrition. The Palestinians in Gaza, who according to the media, are on the verge of a humanitarian crisis and starvation since day 1, still appear to be fat and well fed.

I purchased a ‘bring them home’ necklace and pendant for my American friend who had forgotten to get one as a volunteer. He lives in Michigan and I will mail it to him on my return to Montreal as promised. I then walked over to the Asrieli complex and mall. The 3 buildings are very impressive from the outside and probably house offices. The mall was nice but resembles many other malls that I have visited. I purchased 2 boxes of Leonidas Belgian chocolate. I will give one to my cousin Shari and I will bring one to tonight’s seder. I took the bus back to my hotel. I have an Israeli bus and train pass that you can reload with shekels. I have become quite adept at negotiating the bus, train and metro system in Tel Aviv.

Last evening I drove to Shari’s house near Beersheba. It takes 1:20 to drive there on good roads and an autoroute. With Waze, I have no trouble getting around anywhere in Israel. I wonder if the members of BDS still use Waze to get around as Waze is an Israeli company. They probably still use it as they want you to desist from using Israeli products but not themselves. Shari lives on a moshav. A moshav resembles a kibbutz except that the homes are owned by individuals and not the community as in a kibbutz. The major equipment is owned by the community but each individual is responsible for his own produce. We had Shabat dinner with her family and extended family. Shari’s school was devastated last year on Oct. 7 when she lost many friends, former students and students. She says that is very sad to see the empty chairs where her students used to sit. It is an ongoing reminder of what happened on Oct 7 and what the world is doing to forget about in their efforts to ‘Free Palestine’ leaving Hamas in charge again. A ceasefire only means that Israel ceases and Hamas reloads and fires.

I am sitting out on the rooftop terrace writing my blog. The view of the sea is as beautiful as always. Yesterday and today there is a strong wind with 2-3 foot breakers crashing on the beach. It was not warm enough for swimming yesterday but hopefully it will warm up later in the afternoon. There are whitecaps everywhere making me wish that I could go out sailing. While in Jaffa a few days ago, I visited the old port and spoke with a man who was sitting on an older Benateau First, 35 foot sailboat. He lives on his boat most of the time and has an apartment in Beersheba. He goes to Greece sometimes which is a 4 day crossing. My dream life perhaps in another life…

Love,

Brian

Hostage Square, Tel Aviv,

Asrieli Complex and Mall,

The view from the terrace of my hotel on the beach in Tel Aviv

2025-03 2025

Israel 16,

April 5, 2025,

Hi Everyone,

Today was a great day as usual. I woke up reasonably early, wrote my blog on my feelings of the events in Canada, went down to the beach and let my mind wander to pleasant thoughts. It was 21 C with a cool breeze. The beach had its usual amount of people but very few people in the water. It reminds me of what I have heard about Florida in December. The Florida natives are dressed up warmly and the Canadians are in their bathing suits and swimming. Only a small part of the beach was open for swimming, the rest was black flagged.

After lathering up with suntan oil, I lay in the sun on a rented lounge chair until I was warm enough to go into the water. I swam out to the breakwater as usual but I was the only swimmer out there. There were small waves today but there was a strong current blowing in a northerly direction. Although I had no trouble swimming to shore, I found myself blown 200 meters further up the beach onto the black flagged beach. The life guards didn’t whistle or say anything to me. I guess that they are used to me swimming out to the breakwater. I warmed up by taking a long walk on the beach and had my usual Magnum ice cream for lunch.

In the evening I went for dinner at my cousin Rochelle’s place. They bought a new apartment with 3 bedrooms and their own private safe room in the apartment itself. The safe room is reinforced with thick concrete. After a long talk to get us up to date with family news, one of her daughters took me for a long walk to see the neighbourhood called Peta Tikva. The Israel architecture is amazing. The taller build are no more than 8-12 stories high. Each apartment is different although most are built with the same stone. Each apartment faces in a different direction. There are many parks filled with young people playing soccer and basketball. I was very impressed.

Love,

Brian

my Krav Maga team

2025-03 Israel

Israel 9,

Mar. 28-29, 2025,

Hi Everyone,

We got back to Tel Aviv at around 4:00 pm. Most of the volunteers took a taxi to the hotel. I elected to take a bus as I have a pass and wanted to do some shopping in Dizengoff Square which is a circle. I purchased a few necessities and then walked back to Maxim, a distance of 10 minutes. I was glad to get back to the hotel and get my old room back. At 6:00 we had the usual wine and soup and then 3 of us went down to the beach for supper. As usual in the evening there was a cool breeze and we could hear the waves lapping up on the shore.

Friday morning I usually go to the laundromat to wash my week’s laundry. Friday was no exception. It’s silly I suppose, but I love laundromats. They are always the same, buy the powdered soap, choose a washing machine, and pay for 30 minutes. Usually I go for a cappuccino at the cafe next door. I was disappointed to find that the cafe had closed so I just sat outside on a chair and read my emails. The dryer lasted for another30 minutes and I then I was on my way back to the hotel with a fresh batch of clean clothes.

I skipped lunch and went off to the beach which is just across the street. They were not renting chairs yet so I just found a place on the sand. The beach was crowded but you can always find a 10 ft private space for yourself. I lathered up with lotion and lay down to get my first suntan. When I was hot enough, I went for a swim. It was 30C with no breeze and the water was dead calm. The beach was black flagged, meaning no swimming, or swim at your own risk as there were no life guards. There were no swimming signs everywhere. Every hour or so, there was a taped announcement that swimming was dangerous and prohibited. That did not prevent the Israelis from going into the water and swimming. I swam out to the breakwater twice, a distance of 250m, 1 km in total, not bad for a first swim since October.

The Tel Aviv beach is fabulous. The boardwalk extends for miles with restaurants, cafes and bars all along the way. The Israelis are incredibly fit. I did not see 1 overweight person on the beach. The men are 6ft tall, dark skinned, muscled, and very good looking. The typical Ashkenazie Jew that we think of is long gone. There has been 3 generations of intermarriage between the Ashkenazi Jews from Europe, the Sephardic Jews from North Africa and the Mizrahi Jews from the Middle East. Add to that the new arrival of Russian Jews, Yemenites and Ethiopians and you get an incredible mix of genes and cultures. When you see a French person, you usually know by their look that they are French. The same is true for Italians and Greeks. Now, with the intermarriage there is a typical Israeli look both with the men and the women. The women are relatively tall and absolutely gorgeous. They are usually dark skinned with dark hair. Once again they all appear to be in good shape. The men wear shorts for bathing suits. The women wear strings, front, back and top. Everyone is playing soccer, keep the soccer ball in the air with everyone in a circle, volleyball, paddle ball and frisbee. You have to dodge the balls if you are walking on the beach. I had a Magnum ice cream for lunch at 4:00.

I was invited for Shabat dinner at Vickie’s. As usual she had other invited guests. Her brother and sister-in-law were there. Her sister-in-law is from New York and made Alliah in 1970 about the same time that I came to Israel for the first time. I was close to making a similar decision at the time but in the end elected to go to France to study medicine. A Swiss-American doctor was also invited and is working as a paramedic on an ambulance like me. We had a splendid evening together.

Today was more of the same. I had some business to catch up with with the College des Medecins de Quebec that took several hours. I then headed off to the beach. It was slightly cooler today with a 20 knot breeze on the water. There were many sailboats out and I envied them. There were 3 foot waves and the usual no swimming signs and announcements. There were a fair number of surfers out taking advantage of the waves. I swam out to the breakwater. I had to do a breast stroke to see the waves coming and to get past them. Every time I saw a wave, I dove down and let it go ever my head. Eventually, I reached the breakwater. I was the only swimmer out there and the surfers looked like they were wondering what I was doing there. I will admit that it was a little crazy on my part and perhaps somewhat dangerous, but I felt really good and I was swimming well. After my swim, I rested for half an hour and then ran 10 km along the beach in 1:10. Overall it is not a great time but for me it is not bad. Richard asked me to run a 10 km with him next Friday so I must practice a bit this week.

We sat around the table for for our usual wine and soup. A young German girl told us that she was supposed to go to the Nova Festival but some how ended up giving her ticket to her best friend. Her friend was one of the persons killed at the concert. She is in the process of converting and making Aliah. Her husband who is Israeli and in the army was killed several weeks later. Several persons at the table did their best to comfort her and a few of them were crying with her. What a tragedy. How do you get past an experience like that and continue with your life.

Love,

Brian